What are people you interact with each day looking for from you? Some seem to want you to solve their problem, others want to entertain you or sell you something. What everyone is looking for from you is attention. No matter what the situtation, you can make it better by being attentive. Often you can’t solve someone’s problem, or even begin to please all the requests you may get in a day, but you can be attentive. Unfortunately, with modern life and technology being attentive is getting more and more challenging.
Admittedly, attentiveness is a challenge for me, and so I’ve given lots of thought to it. Those of us who are always moving onto the next thing need to focus on attentiveness intentionally, while those who are more naturally attentive perhaps don’t need to make such an effort.
Here are a few experiments to help yourself be attentive:
1. Make an effort to never bring out your cell phone in another’s presence. It’s so second nature for us to pull out phone out and glance at it that we don’t even notice we are doing it. By making a game of never pulling out your phone to look at Twitter, Facebook, emails, and texts unless you are alone you will notice how often you do it, and begin to see how you could be more attentive.
2. Try squaring your shoulders towards those you are talking with, instead of moving right past them. People often don’t want much of your time, but they still want you to be attentive. By stopping and squaring up to them you are signaling them (and yourself) that you will be paying attention.
3. Don’t start conversations until you can be attentive. Often I will have people stop me to talk, but I don’t have time at that moment. It’s important to try to schedule times to really engage and talk, and not try to cram it intot every little space.
What are some others ways you can practice attentiveness?
